Pirate Treasure

In the late 1600s, detractors of the Danish Colony referred to St. Thomas as "The Den of Pirates." Pirates carried out acts of bloody violence, though time glossed over their crimes and gave them a romantic aura. Legends arose around St. Thomas's two ancient gun towers, including tales of Blackbeard's and Bluebeard's castles. This passage, once known as "Creque's Alley," has its own pirate legend: an ancestor of its former owners discovered chests of pirate treasure in a cave on Norman Island and was rumored to have hidden part of it within these premises until it could be converted into bank notes. The fantasy of finding a pirates hoard and quick wealth still haunts the islands.

Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands · United States